These are the ramblings of a self-described wheat, grain and gluten-free “gourmet girl” that loves to cook and eat good food. I love creating and sharing recipes and photographing “beautiful food”. In July 2012, I eliminated wheat, grains and added sugar from my diet and rediscovered real, whole fresh foods again and effortlessly lost 65+ pounds. Join me in my wheat, grain and gluten-free journey. See how easy it is to enjoy grain free gourmet, one meal at a time! Welcome to my blog. Enjoy!

Pages

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Cookies & Southwestern Style Caprese Salad

This evening I baked some Chocolate Chip Cookies when I got home. I actually made the cookie dough last night and refrigerated it. It was ready to just scoop and bake when I got home. I love this one-bowl cookie recipe. It makes 24 regular sized cookies or 36 small cookies. I decided to make smaller cookies this time by using my little 1 tablespoon retractable scoop. I still have enough dough leftover to make a fresh batch of cookies whenever I want to over the next week or so. These cookies are so easy to make and because they use only one bowl, clean-up is easy too. After they were finished baking, I decided to try something different. I wanted to see if I could slightly crisp them without burning them. You need to be careful when baking with almond flour because it is easier to burn than regular flour. So, after they baked for the usual 15 to 18 minutes...I turned off the oven and let them stay in the hot oven for another 5 or 6 minutes until they were dark golden brown. I let them cool before trying them. The exterior was crispier and the inside was still nice and tender. It was like having a "combo cookie!"I wasn't very hungry for dinner this evening since I ate a pulled beef sandwich for lunch. Later on in the evening, I decided to have a simple "tomato and cheese sandwich" using some fresh tomatoes one of my sweet neighbors brought over to us last night. Unfortunately many of my tomatoes seem to have become the food supply for an annoying little chipmunk that has decided we planted them just for him!!! What he doesn't eat, he leaves behind after taking a little bite out of them and tossing them on the patio.Now, back to my dinner...as I began slicing the big beautiful ripe tomato, I decided not to bury it in between 2 pieces of bread. I remembered that I had a big block of Cabot Pepper Jack Cheese in the fridge that I had picked up at Costco. I sliced up some cheese and decided to make a "Southwestern Style Caprese Salad" instead! I layered the sliced tomatoes and spicy cheese in a stack and picked it up with my hands and ate it! LOL How is that for a mental picture? Was it messy....YES! Was it delicious....YOU BET!!! The Cabot Pepper Jack Cheese is so different than the sliced pepper jack cheese you buy in the store. This cheese is so creamy and smooth and it's loaded with big pieces of hot peppers. It was awesome and I will definitely keep Southwestern Style Caprese Salad on my list of favorite ways to enjoy garden ripe tomatoes (but next time I'll drizzle it with avocado oil and eat it with a fork and knife). I snapped a few photos of my dinner below. I've also included photos of the Chocolate Chip Cookies that I had for dessert (or to be honest...that I had as an appetizer this evening)! I hope you enjoy these "one bowl beauties." ;-) I've also included the recipe. Enjoy!

4 ounces (brick style) cream cheese, softened1 large egg1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped3/4 cup 70% or 85% cacao chocolate bar (3.5 ounces), chopped (use 70% for sweeter chips)Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt and Swerve sweetener (or other granular sweetener). Make a well in the center of the bowl and add softened butter, cream cheese, egg and vanilla extract. Using a wooden spoon, cream and mix dry and wet ingredients together until the dough is mixed and blended well. Using a rubber spatula, fold in walnuts and chocolate chips/chunks and mix just until blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls (or chill dough and lightly roll into balls for neater cookies) onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet or nonstick baking pan. Very lightly tamp down (do not flatten) since the cookies do not spread much while they bake. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Cookies are very soft when hot and will firm up as they cool. Let sit 10-15 minutes and then transfer to a rack using a spatula to cool. Makes about 2 dozen cookies (or 3 dozen small cookies).

I just found your site, and I love the recipes! They use ordinary ingre, that I can readily get. I am new to the Low Carb world, and have not baked much. I have Splenda here at the house, and wondered if that would work.. Also in other recipes you have called for powdered sweetener, and also wondered how I could powder that.. Thanks for the great recipes, I will be following you from now on...

Yes it should work. I have powdered granular sweetener in the past by using my Magic Bullet to grind it until fine. Hope that helps and hope you find some recipes you like. Welcome to the low carb world. :-)

I made these tonight for my family and my 1 and 2 year olds LOVED them as much as my hubby and I! Thanks for sharing! ! I've been loving your website as I'm now almost 2 weeks on the Wheat Belly plan. I also made your cheddar broccoli impossible pie the other night and have been loving it. I saw that you've had significant weight loss on the WB plan also. .. How long did it take before you began to lose? I have about 100 pounds to lose and have been surprised because I've only lost about one pound in the 2 wks. ..

Thanks so much -- I'm so happy everyone, including your little ones, enjoyed the cookies! My weight loss began fairly early on and I lost the majority of my weight in the first 6 months. Everyone loses differently so don't get discouraged. If your weight loss doesn't pick up a bit in the next few weeks, I'd first look to see how many "net carbs" (carbs minus fiber) you are having. I try to stay around 50 net carbs. Have you noticed any decrease in appetite yet? Some people take a few weeks to adjust. I wish you the best of luck with this plan and hope your weight loss kicks in soon because I know how much that helps motivate you. Let me know if you need any help figuring anything out...I've been following this for a little over 2 years now. Thanks! :-)

Thank you so much for your response, Gourmet Girl! Your site has been immensely helpful and I'm so grateful you're sharing your great recipes with us. I really have noticed a difference in so far as my appetite decreasing, and my husband has in his appetite as well (although not as much because he is still doing oats for breakfast). I think I've planned bigger amounts/more food than I need to, as I have a lot of leftovers when in the past that wouldn't have been in the case if I made the same amounts of food with grains in it... So our eyes and minds arestill adjusting to whatwe actually need to feel full/satisfied. I also feel better....I have ulcerative colitis and my stomach has been doing much better already 90 percent of the time. I haven't started counting carbs yet and I think that maybe that will help. Do you generally eat the 2 to 4 squares of dark chocolate allowed daily? I have been with nuts in it. Also we've been eating a decent amount of cheese. ..I know it's not supposed to matter. ..

In the beginning, I didn't eat more than a square of 70% chocolate a day. I gradually moved up to 85% and now I eat Endangered Species 88% most of the time. I try to make the 3-ounce bar last for 5 days. Most of the time it does. I actually took a break for a bit and stopped eating chocolate. But these days I do eat it. The bar I eat says it has "2 servings"...but I try to make it last for "5 servings". It's probably better that you are eating yours with nuts because it cuts the amount of chocolate/sugar you eat without having to cut back on the amount. Give yourself a little time...it becomes easier as your appetite gradually reduces. I ate more cheese and nuts in the beginning too -- and didn't focus as neurotically on the carbs...but instead no grains, wheat, sugars, etc. Keeping my fingers crossed for you...I know you will do fine. :-)

I made these cookies for the first time tonight ... but it sure won't be the last time! :-) I love how they came out and I love the ease of preparation, too! I baked half of the dough and put the rest in the fridge for later in the week, per your suggestion. Great idea!

Welcome to my Blog!

Welcome to my blog! I look forward to sharing my love of food, cooking and photography with you as well as some of my favorite recipes and food finds. Cooking is a passion and I love experimenting in the kitchen. I rarely follow a recipe exactly and usually feel the need to add a "tweak or two" to make it my own. I hope you get an idea or two while you are here. Cooking doesn't have to be complicated and you don't need to be a rocket scientist to be a good cook. There are so many ways to make a quick and delicious meal without having to run through the drive-thru. You can "have it your way" every day AT HOME! Enjoy!

*Note: Effective July 10, 2012, all recipes (except for an occasional one made for others) are completely grain free, wheat free, gluten free with no added sugar and can be found below in the list of recipes under "Wheat/Grain/Gluten Free Recipes". Enjoy!

Contributors

Subscribe To Gourmet Girl

DISCLOSURE: Some blog posts on Gourmet Girl Cooks contain affiliate links. Purchasing through an affiliate link does not cost you, the buyer, any extra, but Gourmet Girl Cooks may receive a small commission. I only link to and recommend products and companies that I truly love.